MyBLog

Friday, March 30, 2012

Facebook Brand Timeline Deadline Approaches: Are You Being Rushed?

Will your fans like the change?

Brands
have had a month to prepare their Facebook Timelines, but on Friday,
their Facebook Pages will be switched to the new Timeline format whether
they like it or not. You will no longer have a choice, so I hope you
weren't too fond of your Facebook Page. The good news is that there is a
lot to like about the new format, but it's still created some issues
for some businesses, and the deadline means if you haven't prepared for
it, you may have a less-than-favorable Facebook presence representing
your brand for Facebook's over 800 million users. For that matter, you
don't have to have a Facebook account to view a public Facebook
timeline, so it's really, potentially, representing you to even more
people.

A lot of users didn't like the timeline
format for their personal profiles, so it stands to reason there will be
plenty of complaints from brands as well - especially those who are
unprepared.

There is a lot for brands to like
about the new Timelines (we'll get to that later), but it's not all
unicorns and rainbows. DreamGrow lists some pros and cons of the brand timelines.
Among the cons mentioned are the inability to have a custom landing
page and the visibility of certain data. "At present, only your page
admins can see your recent likes, visitor reach and people 'talking
about' your brand," the post notes. "This data is now readily available
for your followers to view. Brands that are experiencing a bout of
negative PR or backlash from fans could find this new feature rather
unwelcomed."

Mercury News has an interesting story about a brand who changed to the timeline and upset a bunch of fans
(mainly elderly people), who became "so angry and vocal," that they had
to be banned. So there is the possibility that fans who aren't savvy
about Facebook's dealings may be unjustly upset with brands. The
report's author, Mike Swift, writes:

It's unclear
whether older users are less happy about the switch to Timeline than
younger Facebook members, but some sites that serve older users are
bracing themselves for the upcoming change.

"If we had a
choice, we wouldn't switch over to the Facebook Timeline format -- yet
-- because our community is not a big fan of 'big' changes," said Kim
Hong, social media and community manger for San Mateo-based Winster, a
website that features social games and is heavily used by baby boomers
and seniors.

Swift says one brand ran a poll about
whether its fans liked the changes, and a whopping 98% said they either
didn't like them or didn't understand them. If it's an issue for one
brand, it could be an issue for others.

Brands have
ups and downs throughout their lives just like people, so brands need to
review what is actually on these timelines very carefully. That's where
the approaching deadline is of incredible significance. Some brands
have been around longer than others, and a month may not be enough time
to get everything in place that they want on the timeline. The timeline will let you go as far back as 1000 A.D.
If your brand is old, and you have a rich history, this is probably
going to be an ongoing project - just the filling in of the past - let
alone keeping it fresh with new stuff.